So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
I tried to brace myself for impact
But the preparation was nearly useless
Almost as useless as my earlier efforts
I can't keep this inside
You're gonna brag? Don't brag on me
You wish you had your hands in this
But the truth is the truth, that's all
And at first
We weren't noticing the way you talked to us all
In reverse
Forced to walk upon a string
In hopes that we won't fall
And you plucked a young group from the heart of the hills
With the promise of the world to dangle
In front of her face, his face, her face
What if we left you behind?
The tables turned, this time not me
If you were as half as tough as I thought you were
You'd stand there like a man
And at first
We weren't noticing the way you talked to us all
In reverse
Forced to walk upon a string
In hopes that we won't fall
The look on your face
A smile that never took it's place
It's absent like me
The look on your face
A smile that never took it's place
It's absent like me (we'll give it you)
The look on your face
A smile that (we'll give it to you) never took it's place
It's absent like me (we'll give it to you)
The look on your face
A smile that (we'll give it to you) never took it's place
It's absent like me
We'll give it to you (x8)
What if we left you behind?
The tables turned, this time not me
If you were as half as tough
Half assed tough as I thought you were
I can't hold this inside
If you're gonna brag, don't brag on me
You wish you had your hands in this
But the truth is the truth, that's all
But the preparation was nearly useless
Almost as useless as my earlier efforts
I can't keep this inside
You're gonna brag? Don't brag on me
You wish you had your hands in this
But the truth is the truth, that's all
And at first
We weren't noticing the way you talked to us all
In reverse
Forced to walk upon a string
In hopes that we won't fall
And you plucked a young group from the heart of the hills
With the promise of the world to dangle
In front of her face, his face, her face
What if we left you behind?
The tables turned, this time not me
If you were as half as tough as I thought you were
You'd stand there like a man
And at first
We weren't noticing the way you talked to us all
In reverse
Forced to walk upon a string
In hopes that we won't fall
The look on your face
A smile that never took it's place
It's absent like me
The look on your face
A smile that never took it's place
It's absent like me (we'll give it you)
The look on your face
A smile that (we'll give it to you) never took it's place
It's absent like me (we'll give it to you)
The look on your face
A smile that (we'll give it to you) never took it's place
It's absent like me
We'll give it to you (x8)
What if we left you behind?
The tables turned, this time not me
If you were as half as tough
Half assed tough as I thought you were
I can't hold this inside
If you're gonna brag, don't brag on me
You wish you had your hands in this
But the truth is the truth, that's all
Lyrics submitted by VegaLyrah
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And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
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